Students participating in this year’s Southern Great Plains Dairy Consortium were challenged to answer how future dairy producers could improve the dairy industry.

The Consortium, held annually in Clovis, N.M., is an educational program designed to teach college students from across the country about the multifaceted dairy industry, with focuses on improving industry competitiveness and the production of safe, wholesome products.

“The Southern Great Plains Dairy Consortium has been a wonderful experience,” student Heather Eagle from Three Rivers said. “I sincerely hope that universities and communities will continue to support agriculture, especially within the field of dairy. Milk rocks!”

From the producer’s perspective, Jonathan Vander Dussen, a producer in the Clovis, N.M. area said, “This program is a great way for students who are interested in learning about the dairy industry to gain well-rounded knowledge of all the different aspects involved in producing milk and large herd dairy management. Growing up in a dairy-producing family, this class would have been a great asset for me. I would have been able to visit other dairies and learn why they do things the way they do, how different techniques work for them, and learning from the dairy specialists about what directly influences all aspects of producing in the dairy industry.”